I had a natural birth with DD and would like to do so again. I will be delivering in the hospital, DH's preference and I didn't want to make any choices that he wasn't comfortable with.

I'm looking for some good books on natural childbirth, I looked into hypnobirthing, but I'm not sure how much that includes DH...this is his first and I want to make sure that he can be involved.

I'm also exploring the Bradley method...any feedback on it?

Whatever we go with, we won't be taking classes, it just won't work with our schedule. Also, this baby will likely be induced as I have a long commute to law school and there is some concern regarding me going into labor on the road. I want to play that one by ear though...I'm only willing to be induced within a week of my EDD (very accurate, we were charting and using CBEFM) and if I'm showing signs of naturally progressing anyway.

My husband and I just finished taking Bradley Classes. They are WONDERFUL. Not only the classes, but both of Dr. Bradley's books are educational and very interesting. What a wise and certainly non-typical man with a great approach to the childbirth process. I HIGHLY recommend both the classes and the books to anyone who is hoping for a natural childbirth.

Another great book that you can pick up is INA MAY'S GUIDE TO LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH. Ina May is a Midwife who has helped bring many babies into the world, and actually helped bring together one of the most infamous birth centers in the Country. Her words of wisdom and stories about childbirth will forever change your ideas about the process. I recieved this book for Christmas from my mother and I could NOT put it down. I have re-read it a few times during this pregnancy and use it as a reference point when talking to people about natural childbirth. It's incredible. Definately worth buying.

I don't know if you were induced with your first or not but it changes your labor completely. I would highly not recommend it! Being induced frequently leads to all sorts of other interventions that you may not want. Even if you know your due date from charting - the baby will come when the baby is ready and when your body is ready.

sorry to be the downer on that one but unless you have just super quick deliveries the commuting shouldn't be an issue. I've had 2 pregnancies where my commute to the birth center or midwife was well over an hour away - my last one the birth center was almost 2 hours away and still no problems. It is a matter of once you think you are in labor if you are at school come home immediately. Unless you have really fast labors then you don't have anything to be concerned over and no need to be induced unnecessarily.

My husband and I just finished taking Bradley Classes. They are WONDERFUL...What a wise and certainly non-typical man with a great approach to the childbirth process. I HIGHLY recommend both the classes and the books to anyone who is hoping for a natural childbirth.

Another great book that you can pick up is INA MAY'S GUIDE TO LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH....

Thanks for the recommendations! I actually ordered Ina May's book last night, I'm going to check out the Bradley books now.

I would have loved to have taken a class, but between DH's coaching schedule, his summer school (teaching) schedule, and my grad school schedule it wasn't possible

We did Bradley Classes and they were WONDERFUL! I can't recomend them enough! The Bradley books are great too - definately worth a read. If you don't think taking a class at a specific time fits into your schedule, try to talk to your local Bradley instructor about private classes. My hubby is a resident so his schedule is CRAZY and our instructor really worked with us and met with us privately a number of times so we could still take the class. Bradley instructors are awesome!

I had a Bradley birth with my DS and I really think the techniques I learned in the class helped a ton. I was able to relax and actually sleep between contractions for almost my whole (39 hour) labor. Hubby was very active in the whole process too, from massaging my back and face to reminding me to relax. If your hubby wants to be involved, Bradley is the way to go.

From what I've heard, induction hurts a LOT worse than laboring naturally. Pitocin forces hard labor so you don't build up gradually to the really strong contractions like you would laboring naturally. That can be bad for mom because it hurts more and bad for baby because building up to strong contractions gives baby time to adapt to them as well. Induced births have a higher rate of fetal distress and an increased chance of needing a e-c/sec. That's just something you might want to keep in mind if you are really wanting a natural birth - I don't think I know a single person who was induced that birthed without pain meds.

I don't know if you were induced with your first or not but it changes your labor completely. I would highly not recommend it! Being induced frequently leads to all sorts of other interventions that you may not want. Even if you know your due date from charting - the baby will come when the baby is ready and when your body is ready.

Thanks for your input regarding being induced. The problem is that I do have quick deliveries...I was only in labor with DD (my first) for 3 hours...and they expect that this one will come even quicker. Since the drive is about 1 1/2 hours...this may cut it a bit close.

I'm actually just fine with giving birth near the school, but the concern is that I would go into labor on the road between the two. The ambulance response times are awful there (DH's cousin is and EMT and has been looking into it) and they don't want me going through it alone (nor do I )

Taking time off from school is not an option, I have a full merit-based scholarship - and its a "use it or loose it" type of thing. I can only miss 2 classes, and those need to be after the baby is born. I know that many may not approve of my decision to go to law school with a newborn, but for our family it really does work best, and we have worked it out so DH will be home before I have to leave for the first year.

I still haven't committed to the induction...we're going to wait and wee how things go. I've already stated that I won't consider it unless my body is showing signs of naturally progressing. Ideally I would like to avoid it all together, but I have to be realistic and accept that in this situation it very well may be what is best.

Are you me? Seriously, we're in the same state, I'm in law school, and I have an hour+ commute. My babe was born in May, two weeks into the summer term and all my concerns about going into labor in school were for nought. If you think about the number of hours you spend in class it's really a fairly small percentage. Our plan was if I went into labor in school to call and let our midwives know, then evaluate if I wanted to drive myself, have MIL come pick me up, or have a classmate drive me home. Of course asking someone to drive me home was our last option--so time consuming for them and then to have to find someone to drive them back, etc.

But I went into labor Sunday morning and the baby was born 33 hours later--so not only did I not go into labor far away, but I ended up spending the first 10 hours of my labor running around doing errands.

If we're in the same school, we should get in touch--I'm moving much closer to school in a month or so though.

The only question now is, why are you wanting to have a natural birth but be induced? I'd say, if you are being induced, just go for the pain reliever as you will need it being induced. Being induced defeats the purpose of going natural but I understand your concerns with a quick labor, that would scare me too.

I hope I didn't offend you. I am just confused with your desires for a natural birth and wanting to be induced.